Advanced Writers is a perfect writing company for hiring academic writers online.

Follow by Email

What are the mistakes you see in beginner writers?

Posted by
Jo Linsdell
at
7:00 AM

I guess we
should start with the ones I made: sending material out before it’s done, lack
of proofreading, lack of patience. Patience is the big one, though. Writing
takes time. You have to re-write and edit. You have to read things over and
over. You have to be sure about what you’re trying to say.

I originally
sold my book Saving Mary: The Possession
(under a different title) to a large publishing house (back in 2002/03).
Looking back, I see that I had originally sold a first draft; and as the
publishing process chugged along, I became more and more uncomfortable about my
book being released. It simply wasn’t finished, at least not in the way I meant
for it to be done. My lack of focus (I personally think) transferred to the
publishing house and I was soon faced with a problem: what I had meant to be a
“personal memoir” had somehow turned into “Christian fiction.” Eventually I was
allowed out of my contract so that I could rework the book as true memoir.

You see, I had
changed my name (and the names of most people in the book) simply because I was
uncomfortable with being in a book (I figured other people might be just as
uncomfortable). I didn’t think this would be a problem since “A rose is a rose,
by any other name.” But it was. First of all, you simply can’t be uncomfortable
with being in a book if you want to write a memoir. You just have to get over
yourself. This is your life: your experiences, your friends, your view. You have
to own it.

The second
problem was that the author of A Million Little
Pieces had just been scolded by Oprah for not sticking to the rules of
memoir. My publisher wanted to take no chances and so they switched my book to
“fiction.” Without consulting me. So,
with all this being said, make sure you finish your book, staying true to the
vision you see and hear in your head.

The other big
mistake I see writers making is showing their work to the wrong people. Not
everyone should critique your work. Not everyone believes you can succeed as a
writer. And too many opinions can confuse a new writer. Figure out what you
want to say and then work at saying it as best you can.